Hot ChoCúlate and Diarmints
by Assassin Number 9
Summary: Oh, aren't the holidays wonderful? Especially for couples, winter is just such a romantic time. And what better way to celebrate it with some hot chocolate, peppermints, and sexy Irish men! There are many surprises awaiting the two couples during the holiday season, parties, kisses, gifts, so come find out what awaits them for this lovely winter! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
1. Hot ChoCúlate

**A/N: Hey everybody! Merry Christmas! I would like to dedicate this short story to all of you lovely readers! You guys are probably the only reason why I am here right now! You all keep me going! So, thank you so much for all of your continuous support! This will be a two-part story (One Jealainn Part, One Diarturia Part). So without further ado, Happy Holidays, everyone! Enjoy!**

 **-** _ **Assassin Number 9**_

 _ **P.S. – I know this is a few days late, but it's still Christmas season even if it's afterwards. This will be an adorable, little two-shot for both Christmas and New Years. You will also be seeing a new thing that I am creating called Winter One-der Shots coming here soon to a Fanfiction, Wattpad, and AO3 near you!**_

 **Credit: Some adorable headcanons were from some asks that I sent to MissAtomicBomb on Tumblr (Cú looking hot in hats and Scarf-stealing Jeanne as well as a surprise). If you haven't read her stories, be sure to do so! She is phenomenal (and super sweet, too)!**

 _ **Hot ChoCúlate and Diarmints**_

" _I Need Some Jeannemallows with my Hot ChoCúlate!"_

The jingle bells rang in the streets as the laughter of children sang with them. Snow was being thrown this way and that way, some hitting their targets while others were dodged. And in the midst of the festivities, a blue-haired man sat against a tree in the park, watching out for the blonde beauty who he knew he would make his wife someday (because she may have fought for the bouquet at his best friend and sister-in-law's wedding).

He had previously planned to finish the novel he had been reading, but the Irishman was too excited to see the snow sprinkled in her hair and the way her coat wrapped around her body so nicely. He had to admit that he just couldn't wait for what was to come that day. Christmas Eve may have not have been _his_ favorite holiday, but it was hers and that was all that mattered. Her happy smile would never cease to amaze him. She always looked beautiful wearing it. He had to agree with Diarmuid. There was just something about winter that made women look so beautiful. Maybe it was that their cheeks turned red in both flattery and chilliness or the way that their hair would shine beneath the snow that landed on it. They were just so gorgeous this time of year.

However, he was also a bit nervous for what was to come in a week from that day – the New Year's Eve party that Jeanne's and Arturia's families and friends always had. Cú had already met her family (who did not like him for the most part, except for Pierre, Catherine, and Isabelle), but had never met her and Arturia's best friends. _That_ was what he was nervous about, because they were very close to each other. Jeanne had also warned him that her friend Gawain "may have also threatened death" to one of her best guy friends from elementary, and she wasn't even dating him! So Lord help him for what would to come with confrontation with Gawain.

"Hey Cú! Have you gotten anywhere in that book, or have you been distracted all this time?" his dark-haired best friend said as he approached. "Oh yeah, I forgot that this will be the first year that you will be able to make our gathering, although it will be small. Unfortunately, the snow has built up so high that it is made it a little difficult to travel through, so it will only be Arturia and Jeanne's group of friends that will be able to make it."

Cúchulainn looked up at his former roommate with a blush upon his cheeks. He chuckled when he realized how stupid he probably looked. "I've been distracted. It sounds dumb, but I'm kind of nervous. With Jeanne never having an actual boyfriend before, I don't know what her friends will think of me. Have they said anything about me? Has Jeanne told them a lot? Has she never spoken about me? Oh god, what if she has never even mentioned me before? What if she has but only mentioned that I smoke and drink and-?" the renowned athlete rambled, earning a laugh from the other Irishman.

"Cú, out of all the things you could possibly be nervous about, it's meeting her friends? I've met them before, and they are incredible people. You'll have no problem getting along with them whatsoever. And hey, you'll always have me there, so there's nothing to worry about. I'll always have your back."

"That's what you said before you met Arturia, then you went and got _married_! When do you have my back now, Dia? You know what you did when I ran out of hot water? You laughed. You didn't say, 'Oh, Cú, you're welcome to come over and take a hot shower here so you won't get sick. I'd love to have you over.' No, you just laughed. And you two had probably used up all your hot water anyway when you were having sex! So no, Dia, you do not always have my back!"

"You got me there," Diarmuid stated after a short pause. "Anyway, you have gone into stadiums with thousands of people watching you without any kind of butterflies getting trapped in your stomach, so why are you so anxious about this?"

"Because I know that I won't humiliate myself doing that! And even if I do, the crowd will cheer anyway! They love it when their favorite athletes embarrass themselves! If I screw up in front of her friends, they're going to be judging me, and I don't want to cause Jeanne any second-hand embarrassment."

Diarmuid looked down at Cú with a gentle smile. He had always seen the older Irishman confident and assured, seen him as the brother he always wanted, so it made him kind of relieved that he was close enough to him to see this side of his best friend. "Come on, Cú. I'm sure once you see her, you'll forget about what you were even worried about. Everything will be fine," he tried reassuring him, before the ring of a cellphone began.

Diarmuid answered it saying, "Hi honey…yeah, I'll be there in a bit…alright, I'll tell him…okay, love you, too. Bye." With that, he hung it up and put it back in his pocket. "Well, I have to go, Cú. Arturia needs me home to help her cook. I'll see you tonight. Oh yeah, Artie also told me to tell you that she said hi," Dia informed the red-eyed Irishman, who nodded.

"Tell her that I said hi back," Cú told his best friend. He smiled before waving his friend goodbye, leaving the athlete alone once more to bathe in his nervousness. Diarmuid had no idea what he was going through. Arturia never had any worries with her friends disapproving with the men she brought to meet them, but Jeanne was a different tale. If Jeanne even spoke of a man in a nice way, all hell would break loose, and her best guy friends would be sure to inform the man of what would happen if he were to even accidentally step on the back of her shoe. He sighed to himself, "Calm down, Cú. You still have at least a week of life left before the party. After that, who fucking knows?"

"Cú~!" a familiar voice called out with almost a rhythm to it. Cú turned red, debating whether he should look back at her or pretend like he didn't hear her so he wouldn't get a premature pop up. The pants he was wearing were not good for those types of things. He learned that the hard way. "Cú~! I know your strategy, and it's not going to work! So, don't pretend that you don't hear me~!"

Well, Cú had to hand it to her. She learned quickly. His eyes turned toward her, allowing her to meet them. She had a wide smile on her face that only enhanced her beauty. "Oh, there you are!" she exclaimed happily before running through the snow towards him.

He hadn't been wrong that she was going to look absolutely gorgeous. Her hair and hat, like he had predicted, looked as if it had been covered with sprinkles and her cheeks were as red as the swirls of a candy cane. "Hi, sweetie~!" she hummed as she placed a light kiss upon his cheek. "Oh? Did you finish the book?" Jeanne sat down next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder.

Cú finally managed to smile after having his mouth wide open in astonishment from the beauty of his girlfriend, and greeted her lovingly, "Hey, Jeanne, and no I have not finished my novel yet. I had gotten quite a bit distracted from reading." He leaned his own head on hers. She snuggled up to him, trying to warm them both up from the cold.

She giggled lightly at the response that she had received. "Oh really? Why is that? Entranced by the beauty of the snow?" She untucked her head from in between her lover's shoulder and head, glancing up at him. His eyes looked at her with all the love in the world, and he had a blush upon his cheeks (much like how she appeared to him).

"Mm," he moaned in thought. "Close, but not exactly. I was entranced by beauty but not the beauty of the snow. I'm guessing you know where I'm going with this," he continued in whisper before kissing her neck. Diarmuid had been right; he _had_ forgotten all about his anxiety. He heard her whimper a bit, causing him to chuckle softly. "What? Does being kissed in public make you embarrassed?" he questioned her.

The Irishman pulled back to get a glimpse of her flustered face, and much to his satisfaction was her face utterly filled with bashfulness, blush, and embarrassment. She groaned in annoyance at his tone, knowing full well that he was enjoying every single second of watching her struggle to find her words. "Y-your s-so mean…" Jeanne stuttered. "W-why do you have to t-tease me so much?"

Cúchulainn gave the infamous smile that she both loved and hated. His voice was barely even a mumble now, "Aw, is my baby girl cold, or is she just embarrassed of being so loved by her man?" He kissed her on the lips this time, then moving down to her chin then to her throat and then all about her neck. Yep, it seemed that all of his nervousness from earlier was completely vanished. He was now completely confident in himself to her immense chagrin. She would much rather see him as the humiliated one. He was so cute when he was shy. But, that made her not want to blame him for wanting to egg her on.

"You know which one, meanie," she murmured with a blush that _Rin_ would be jealous of. "However, I don't think doing this in public is very appropriate." She could feel his warm breath on her chilled skin, causing her to shiver slightly. That chill down her spine only grew when he traveled to her ear.

"Is kissing so inappropriate for PDA? Does it cross the line? I've seen worse in my day, unless of course that could just be how the Irish are," the male breathed with a tone that was so romantic it caused her blush to only grow deeper. He knew how to drive her crazy, and PDA was _definitely_ one of those things. She was raised as a devout catholic, so showing love always made her crawl into her shell. It was how she was taught. Jeanne never dated in high school and was even timid about it in college, but Cú had goaded her to do so. And, there they were, living together, cooking together, attending celebrations and weddings together, and above all sleeping together. How they weren't married, she didn't know. It had been almost four years. They were still young, but she was growing impatient.

She finally let out a little laugh before turning his head towards her and kissing him passionately on the lips. "You know what I mean," the Frenchwoman told him amusingly. "Goodness, do you _always_ have to make it obvious that we love each other (except for doing it in the most obvious of ways)?"

Cú looked at her confused. "What?" he turned his head.

"Nothing," she bluffed with a sweet smile that only caused his suspicion to grow. She watched him sigh in defeat, his blue hair falling over his forehead as he let his head fall slightly.

Looking her in the eye, he groaned to himself, almost as if it was a complaint, "Damn, why do you have to be so cute all the time? Even when you're lying you're insanely cute." After all that time she had been there, she had finally noticed that beanie hat that had been placed on his head. Oh boy did she love it when he wore beanies, he looked so handsome in them. How did she not notice it? Maybe she was distracted with a certain thought as well when she had arrived in the spot next to him.

Cú's eyes traveled her body up and down before noting one accessory of her attire. "Is that my scarf you're wearing? Gee, you make fun of me for being a cringe-worthy boyfriend. Look at you, Miss I-need-to-steal-my-boyfriend's-scarves."

"I'm also wearing one of your sweatshirts," Jeanne smiled innocently, knowing full-well what that would get her. He started laughing before getting up, picking up some snow and packing it into a ball. "Ah!" she screamed mockingly as the snow fell apart upon impact with her coat.

"You ornery, little shit," he chuckled, earning a snowball to the face in return. The two were laughing happily as they entered their own little snowball war. It only lasted a few minutes before Cú pulled her into him, causing them both to fall back. They giggled cheerfully as they lied there in the snow, acting as if the world was frozen.

"Thanks for breaking my fall," Cú's lover said, giving him a peck on the cheek.

"Thanks for making me smell like a girl," he laughed in return, earning a playful punch in the arm from his girl. "Hehe, I'm joking; I'm joking. I always want to smell like you, because I can make up as many stories as I can whenever I do."

"And what are the stories like?" Jeanne questioned with a silly, suspicious look on her face.

"Depends on how I'm feeling," he informed her, looking into her eyes. "All on how naughty I'm feeling that day." She smiled and laughed at his playfulness.

She drew herself closer by wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling herself closer towards his face. "Watch it, mister, or Santa will give you coal instead of presents."

"But, I don't need coal. Our house gets hot enough at night when- "

"Okay, don't make this conversation worse than what it already is," the woman warned him jokingly. "Anyway, I think it's time to get going. We're supposed to have a snow storm later, and I really don't want to get caught up in walking through it. Plus," she continued as she sat up, legs on either side of her boyfriend's waist.

"Jeanne, will you marry me?"

"We also have to get showered and pick out our outfits for when we have our Christmas with Dia and Artie tonight."

"Jeanne."

"Plus, get the house cleaned and everything. Oh no, we also have to get dinner started! What are we even having? Dang it, we need to go to the grocery store! We don't have anything good enough for a Christmas Eve meal!"

"Will you marry me?"

"And-," Jeanne finally stopped, eyes wide as she ceased what seemed like an endless ramble. Maybe, she just heard him wrong. Everything was completely silent for a moment. Everything had frozen except for the snow that had begun to fall harder onto the two of them. Her mouth was wide open in shock as she stared down at him, still on the ground from falling. He was smiling gently up at her with his hands on her hips. "W-What did you say?"

"Will you marry me? Don't think I _actually_ didn't hear you earlier about how I showed everyone how much we loved each other by everything except for the obvious. I was going to propose tomorrow, but I think that you've waited long enough for me to pop the question." He looked at her as if asking such a life-changing question was the most normal thing in the world. He was nervous about meeting her friends, but not asking her to marry him? That made her realize how sad it was that he hadn't met the ones closest to her before he had asked her to spend the rest of her life with him.

She said nothing, just allowed the wind to keep blowing. She was too surprised to say anything. Her hands had dropped to her sides from either being so ecstatic or just from being proposed to out of the blue. She watched as his head tilted, "Are you alright, Jeanne? If you think it's too early, it's perfectly alright. I totally under-" His sentence would go unfinished by Jeanne wrapping him up in a tight hug. He could feel something wet going down his neck, and he guessed it to not be snow due to the warmth that came with it.

"You idiot," she cried as more tears fell from her eyes, making their way down to the ground by sliding down Cú's neck. He smiled into her head, kissing her lovingly. "Yes. Of course, I'll marry you. There's no one else in the world I would want to spend the rest of eternity with." Jeanne was sobbing with happiness. She had waited so long for this moment, to tell him that she wanted to spend her entire life with him, have children with him, die loving him, and her wait was finally over. She could feel one of her now-fiancée's handsome slip from her waist and slip into his pocket.

"Jeanne," he whispered, motioning for her to stand up. The two finally got up, Jeanne wiping her eyes and Cú taking what looked to be a ring box out from his pocket. Her tears only began to fall harder. "I didn't want you finding it in the house, so I always had it on me," he explained. "I hope it fits. I had it custom-made." Opening the box, a gorgeous, diamond ring shined beneath the light. Small diamonds accompanied the large gem in the center placed on rose gold that would dance around her finger. It was the most beautiful ring that she had ever seen.

She sniffed as Cú slipped it on her finger, fitting her left ring-finger stunningly. There would be no way in the world that they could find a better fitting ring in the world. Cú kissed Jeanne, taking her hand. "I think it looks gorgeous on you, but what do you think?"

"I love you," was all she could say, making the Irishman laugh.

"I love you, too." He kissed her once more, twice more, three times more, before finally being satisfied. "So, do you want to do some grocery shopping for the first time being engaged?" His wife-to-be laughed, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I would love to," she hugged him. "I can't say this enough, but I love you, Cú."

Cú gently rubbed her side as they started to the grocery store. Kissing her on the head and pulling her closer towards him, he whispered softly to her, "I love you too, Jeanne. I love you more than anything in the world. Merry Christmas, my love."

She giggled, replying, "Merry Christmas, Cú."


	2. Diarmints

**A/N: Changed the amount of years that Cu and Jeanne have been dating from six years to four. Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

 _ **Diarmints**_

Everything was almost perfect. Decorations complemented the home for the celebration of the new year, appetizers and hors d'oeuvres were spread out for their guests to munch on until the full meal. However, there was one thing missing – the guests. No matter how gorgeous a party room looked, it would never truly be a party room without the actual party, but she did not have to wait much longer. It was almost six in the evening, meaning that Cu and Jeanne would arrive in a couple minutes. The two always showed up early for some extra cleaning, getting late groceries (alcohol), or anything else they needed for last minute.

Arturia sniffed at the air around her, the cool smell of peppermints swirling around the house. She could not help it when she was passing the candle store and smelled the stunning scent in the mall. She had to buy it. Peppermint reminded her of how her husband always came home smelling during the winter with his job as a barista always causing either causing the scent of coffee or the scent of peppermint to burrow itself into his clothes (which during the winter it always happened to be the latter).

She experienced the ecstasy that was the smelling of peppermints, allowing it to soothe her mind. Suddenly, she felt to large arms reach around her and a chin be placed upon her right shoulder – Diarmuid. She couldn't help but wonder how low he had to bend his knees to get to that level. "Did you pick that candle to make me smell like peppermints more than I already do?" Diarmuid chuckled in her ear as he swayed her back and forth to the soft rhythm of the jazz instruments that only added to the beauty of the scene. He kissed her on the cheek before lifting his head and twirling his lover around to face him.

Arturia wore a soft blush upon her cheeks as well as a tiny bit of makeup on her eyelids. She looked absolutely outstanding. "Mm, have I told you I amazing you look tonight?" he questioned, knowing full-well of the answer he was going to receive in return. "Because you look incredible," he complimented her with a kiss upon the back of her hand.

Her giggled was that of an angel's, and he wondered if they had enough time before their best friends arrived to _"accidentally_ " sneak into the bedroom. There was only one other sound and sight in the world that was more delighting than her giggle or laugh. "Yes, you have told me that. Have I told you that you look absolutely handsome?" she murmured lovingly as she played with the ornery, little piece of hair that always escaped from the confines of even the best of hair gels.

He moaned as his hands gently caressed her hips and waist. "I don't remember. You're such a sight to see that you make me lose my memory." He kissed her with yet another chuckle, causing her to laugh.

"You are _such_ a sap," she told him amusingly. "Now, stop trying to get me in bed, and start helping me with prepping the living room." Arturia escaped from within his grasp to organize the living room a bit more and set out chip bowls, fruit and vegetable trays, and small plates and bowls on the coffee tables.

Diarmuid groaned at his rejection as if it was the end of the world. "But, Artie~," he whined, earning an entertained glance from Arturia. He sighed in defeat. "Fine, but only because I love you." He then walked toward the kitchen, grabbing different decorative bowls for chips, paper plates, napkins, and whatever else they needed for the living room. Bringing them into the room and setting them out, he asked Artie, "Do you think Gawain will threaten Cu?"

Arturia nodded. "There's no way he _wouldn't_ threaten Cu, however I know that Jeanne told Alo to keep him from doing so," she laughed. Diarmuid chuckled, remembering the chaos that ensued last year between the blonde and the strawberry blonde. He wondered what kind of creative way she would come up with this year.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang throughout the home, telling the couple that the newly-engaged couple had arrived. "Dia, could you get that, dear?" Arturia questioned him, earning a nod as response. Diarmuid started towards the door, where he could see Artie's and his best friends waiting outside in the cold. Opening it, he greeted them.

"Hey, guys! Happy New Year's Eve!" the barista exclaimed excitedly. The two smiled and returned the kind wish. Their noses were red from the bitter freezing that was the weather. The two stepped in, stomping on the rug so as to make sure they did not get anything wet from the snow that had clung to the bottom of their boots. Taking her boots off and placing them below the coat rack, Jeanne marched off happily to the living room to hug her bff and wish her a happy New Year's Eve.

Diarmuid and Cu watched as she went off to find Arturia cheerfully. After she was out of sight, Diarmuid turned to Cu, who was wearing his glasses instead of his usual contacts, "Roads bad? Arturia wanted us to go to the liquor store later if they weren't. She said that we could get anything we wanted."

"Not bad enough to stop us from going to get our select choice of alcohol," Cu laughed. "Plus, we're from Ireland. I think we've seen much worse, and by that, I mean that we _have_ seen much, much worse. I mean, they might get worse later on, but nothing a pair of Irishmen can't handle." Diarmuid shrugged. His former roommate was right. They once drove through four feet of snow and black ice. Plus, Cu had a jeep.

The blue haired man took off his coat, scarf, and boots before walking with Diarmuid to join the women in the family room. "Happy New Year's Eve, Arturia," Cuchulainn greeted her, walking up and hugging her. "It feels just like yesterday when I first met you, and here we are on our fifth-year anniversary of knowing each other."

"Haha, I know, right? Years do fly by when you get to be out of college and living life like a true adult It's almost like time is running away from us," Arturia commented gleefully. "Next thing you know, you and Jeanne will be walking down the aisle." The statement caused the tall man to blush red and Jeanne to start giggling lightly with excitement for her wedding day.

"Everything looks great by the way. Did you two do this all yourself?" Jeanne asked as she looked around the beautifully decorated home, astounding by how intricately everything was. "It's absolutely gorgeous. Next year when the party is at our house, I will totally out-do you! That's a promise!" she proclaimed confidently.

"Thank you, Jeanne. I cannot wait to see it, but unfortunately it will take an entire year before I do," Arturia thanked the other women. "That reminds though. I don't think that we have anything left for the both of you to do right now. We have everything set up from what I remember," the blonde told the other couple, who glanced at each other in confusion. "What's wrong? Is something the matter?"

Jeanne glanced at her with purple eyes, her head tilted a bit. "Well, the table isn't set up yet, so I think you are most definitely forgetting something. We can help you set it up if you would like." Suddenly, Arturia remembered that she was waiting to set the table up. She had been so focused on the living room that she forgot the most important part of the night – having a meal with all of their friends and family, the reason why they created this entire tradition.

"Oh no, the table hasn't been set!" she gasped. Jeanne gently took a hold of her arm.

"Artie, it's no big deal. We'll have it ready in five minutes. It'll be the two of us; that gives Cu and Dia the perfect time to get what they need from the liquor store. See? It worked out perfectly. We can have our girl time," the Frenchwoman reassured the Englishwoman, who nodded with a smile.

"You're right. Thanks, Jeanne."

"Of course, love. Now, it's time that you boys head off for the liquor store to get some more alcohol. New Year's Eve has a tendency of causing people to drink, and having over a dozen full-grown men in the house at once can lead to some heavy drinking. That's not even including Taiga and Alodine either! I'm sure many of them will bring their own liquor but still. Now, go on, you two! Shoo!" Jeanne rushed the males out of the home (which wasn't really that difficult when it came to alcohol). "Alrighty, Artie! It's time to set the table!"

Arturia bobbed her head determinedly, causing the two of them to rush over to the silverware drawers and plate cupboards and get everything they need. After everything had been gathered in the picnic baskets that Arturia had kept and collected over the years, they made their way over to the table to make it look all nice and pretty for the early guests (the ones who were attending dinner).

They had completed their task effectively and phenomenally. A set table really concluded a scene for a holiday, whether it be for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year's; it was what made everything much more official. Butter and rolls were placed in small baskets in the center of the table to be something for a side. A white table cloth was placed underneath everything, so they could simply throw everything away instead of having to clean the messy table.

Everything was now finished. There was no prepping left to do for the party. After all the work that Arturia and Diarmuid did all day, they were finally able to relax and have a good time with their loved ones. They deserved this kind of treatment after all the stress that had been placed on their shoulders for the past 365 days. Even in the peaceful times, they still had work to do, such as cleaning the house, running errands, having to go on business trips. All of the pains of life led to the end of the year, allowing a new one to start, opening the doors of new adventures and events to take place.

"I can't believe that it is almost 2018 already. I know you were speaking with Cu about this, but I just cannot seem to be able to wrap my head around it. Things have changed so much in the past couple of years. I mean, just think; we didn't even know Cu and Diarmuid six years ago. You and Diarmuid started talking online after you and Guin broke up but had never met face-to-face. Then, it was just by chance that you ran into him at a New Year's Eve college party we attended. I remember how your face was filled to the brim with happiness having met whom you called the man of your dreams.

And a week after that, Cu and I were introduced to each other. You had met him at the party when he had walked in on you and Dia kissing after the fireworks started. About six months after that, you and Dia became officially a couple, going out on dates every weekend, buying each other small gifts, and bringing each other to parties and dances while Cu and I stayed at his apartment playing video games the entire night. We weren't even dating at the time; we just didn't have our respective best friend to hang out with. We just wanted company, so we always made plans when we were informed of the time and day that you two would be away."

Arturia glanced up at Jeanne with a reminiscent smile upon her face. The other woman was correct in what she had said. Arturia and Diarmuid had met, dated, engaged, and married in less than half a decade. The thought caused Artie to nod. "You're right. It's so weird to think that you and Cu are going to get married. I recall a time where you were nervous to even _talk_ to Cu. Of course, it didn't take long for you to exit that stage, but you were still anxious for about two months," Arturia laughed, earning a laugh and a playful punch from her best friend. She then sighed, "Yeah, things have really changed in a short amount of time, haven't they?"

Jeanne smiled. It had been a rhetorical question; they both knew the answer to that. Suddenly, the sound of the front door opening and closing made them jump. "Haha, here come the Irish stereotypes!" Cu called out loudly, announcing the two's presence. The women turned toward the men. "We brings the gift of alcohol. We got a variety," he informed the two, setting the paper sacks down onto the table.

"I'm glad," Arturia responded softly as she walked up to her husband, giving him a small peck.

"Ew, gross! Dia has cooties now!" Cu mocked in a humorous tone, causing the couple to laugh at his silliness.

"Don't be a hypocrite, Cu. I'm sure I have lots of cooties from you," Jeanne kissed him, earning a chuckle from his end. "Anyway, everyone will start showing up here soon. All we have left to do in here is put out the alcohol, and wait for their arrival. Cu, why don't we go spread salt on the driveway so it doesn't get insanely slippery out there? We wouldn't want the guests hurting themselves." Cu nodded, following Jeanne outside after she had put on her winter gear and leaving just Dia and Artie.

"You and Jeanne did a fantastic job with setting the table. I mean, you always do, but I think you two outdid yourselves from last year. By the way, what were you talking about?" Diarmuid asked, wrapping his arms around his tiny King, who put her hands upon his chest. They continued their gentle swaying from earlier.

"Thank you, and we were just talking about how much has happened within only the last couple of years, which got me thinking. What do you think is going to happen this year? Other than the obvious wedding of Cu and Jeanne, of course," Arturia wondered, looking up at Diarmuid in thought. She watched him as he smiled, knowing exactly what she was thinking. The two had been talking about it for a while now but had never really gotten past that deciding stage. They were not sure if they were ready for it.

"Is this leading to a familiar topic that we have discussed before?" he questioned her, amber eyes looking down at her in amused suspicion. He watched as she giggled and bobbed her head. "Well, we'll have to talk about it a bit more to see if we're ready for a child, but I personally think we are." He squeezed her tight but not tight enough to hurt her. "How does that sound for what is going to happen this year? We talk about a family a little more in depth."

"I think that sounds absolutely wonderful. I agree that we're ready, but I don't know how ready we are with our current jobs and such. However, whatever happens this year, no matter good or bad, I will always be happy so long as you are always by my side."

"And that is the same for me but with you," Diarmuid whispered in her ear. "Happy New Year, love"

"Happy New Year, Dia." Suddenly, their sweet moment together was interrupted with the sound of the doorbell. "Well, I think it's time to celebrate it. Don't you think?" Arturia asked him.

"I wouldn't want to celebrate it with anyone else."


End file.
